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Digital Agenda sets the roadmap for the 5G and announces several measures to promote this technology

The Ministry will auction the first frequencies for 5G in January 2018 and call for aid for pilot tests

The Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda has set the roadmap for the development of 5G networks in Spain and has announced a series of measures including public aid to promote pilot projects and technological solutions and start in January the bidding process for the 3.6 Ghz and 1.5 GHz frequency bands.

The Ministry has published this Friday the National Plan of the 5G with which the Government seeks to place Spain among the most advanced countries in the development of this new mobile technology, since among the major European economies only the United Kingdom and Germany have already presented a similar plan.

The plan has been prepared based on the contributions and results of the public consultation held last July and meets the objective set by the European Union (EU) to develop the national 5G deployment plans before the end of 2017 .

In a statement, the Ministry said that the 5G technology is “the cornerstone” of digital transformation and it is estimated that its introduction in the sectors of health, automotive, transport and public services in Spain have an economic impact up to 14,600 million euros before 2025.

The National 5G Plan is based on three axes: spectrum frequency band and regulation, fundamental for the development of 5G and responsibility of the Ministry; the realization of pilot experiences, and the support to the R + D + i and the development of the ecosystems.

Also, Ministry sources have stressed that the Government’s objective is to work on the development of 5G so that Spain is ready when this technology is mature, and have indicated that a follow-up office of the National Plan will be launched to show your results and encourage cooperation.

One of the first measures that the Ministry will start is to start the tender in January of the first frequency bands for 5G, 3.6 GHz (3,600 MHz-3,800 MHz) and 1.5 GHz (1,452). -1.492 MHz), destined to urban coverage and that can reach speeds between 1 GB and 3 GB per second.

For the other two bands identified for the 5G, the 26 GHz and the 700 MHz, the latter currently occupied by the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) services, there is still no expected auction date.

In the case of the release of the 700 Mhz band, known as the second digital dividend, the Government has convened a public consultation process this week, which will conclude with the preparation of a roadmap before the end of June 2018 , thus fulfilling the deadlines set by Europe, which indicates that this band should be released before June 30, 2020.